Bits and pieces of my life. I am a lifelong Christian. I have been married for over 39 years to Stan. No children. We have 3 Italian Greyhounds: Persephone, Dresden & Capodimonte and a calico cat named Binky. We have 9 nieces/nephews and 9 grandnieces/nephews whom we love. My hobbies are genealogy, reading, digital scrapbooking, history, dogs, homemaking. This is a personal blog and not a business. I share what interests me and I am not selling anything or making a profit.

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Sunday, February 22, 2009

Pomeranians

Pomeranians are the tiny fluff, puff dogs of the toy breeds. Looking like a tiny Chow or Spitz, they are the smallest of the Spitz breeds. Developed in the Prussian region of Pomerania in Central Europe (today it's part of Germany and Poland), the Pomeranian was originally descended from the ancient Spitz breeds of Lapland and Iceland which were brought to Europe and employed to herd sheep. The Pom ancestors weighed up to 30 pounds. Marie Antoinette, Emile Zola and Mozart all owned Pomeranians.

In the late 1800's Queen Victoria became a Pomeranian fancier, and established her own kennel for their breeding. She showed her dogs, with some success, making the breed very popular in England. Because Queen Victoria preferred smaller dogs, many breeders began selecting for smaller size. Now the Pomeranian has been bred down from his original size to customary 4-5 pounds.

Pomeranians were brought to America during the early 20th century, and quickly became a hit. However, the dogs that were held with such esteem in England and America during this time, did not look like the Poms so many dog owners have come to know and love today. Pomeranians of the past had less puffy coats, larger ears and bones, and weighed just under 6 pounds.

In some places the Pom is called a Zwergspitz (`Dwarf` Spitz), or Toy German Spitz. Poms are celebrated for their intelligence and hard work. They were, and still are often used for:

•Search and rescue – When the assistance of a small dog is needed to search for survivors, such as in an earthquake.•Hearing assistance•Therapy for the ill and elderly – Poms are often brought into nursing homes to cheer up the patients.

Poms are between 3-7 lbs (although we have come into contact with poorly bred Poms and some that have thyroid problems that makes them put on too much weight).This is Elaine's "Teddy". Teddy Bear has a thyroid condition and is way too large and too fat but is a real Pom. She feeds him right but his body doesn't work with the food correctly so he is obese. He is like carrying a cement block. He was poorly bred when he came to Elaine but a Pom nonetheless and a real sweetie! She and Ronnie lovingly care for him with all their others.

They should normally be 7-12 inches in height. Pomeranians live an average of 12 – 16years, even older. The Pom has a soft, dense undercoat with a profuse harsh-textured outer coat. His heavily plumed tail is set high and lies flat on his back. Colors of Pomeranians can include black, blue, tan, chocolate, cream, orange, red, and sable (a color with black shadowing). A cobby dog has a length equal to or lesser than its height. Some of these are cobby in nature.

They have a sharp wedge shaped head with a face like a fox or a tiny nose on a flatter pansy face.

What I like about the Pommy is that they have all that fluff but it's not on their face or feet so they can stay cleaner than Shihtzus or Pekingnese. No nasty mess after eating or drippy whiskers after drinking. Their feet can stay cleaner when they go outside and not drag mud back inside.

But grooming is still important to this breed. There is still a lot of fur and it needs to be brushed daily to keep it from matting. There is also shedding and more shedding. The cottony undercoat sheds twice a year. You can keep them clipped down.

Lion cuts

Puppy or Teddy Bear cut

Because of their plumy pantaloons they sometimes need spot cleaning after pooping. They need to be clipped regularly too. My sister, Elaine, actually enjoys the one-on-one time grooming her many Pommies. It's the time she focuses on each one and gets to love on them, talk to them, check them out physically, socialize with them. It's soothing to her just like others like to knit or play Solitaire. She has her a dog grooming station with a deep laundry sink (with hot & cold water) and a grooming table for drying. But she keeps her other tools and clippers in a carry all and she will sit outside on pretty days and work through them all trimming between their toes, clipping toenails, brushing them out, shaping them up, swab out their ears, check their teeth, etc.

Health problems with Poms:* They tend to lose their teeth early so try to keep them clean and have dentals done regularly. Feed them dry dog food if possible.* Some blood lines are prone to slipped stifle* Some blood lines are prone to dislocated patella (knee-cap)* Heart problems* Eye infections and/or dry eyes so wipe the eyes carefully daily.* Some tiny females have to have C-sections to deliver puppies.* Hypothyroidism is another common problem in the breed. This is can be diagnosed with a blood test.* Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)

They can be vociferous, but then all toy dogs tend to be vocal. They don't usually have shrill voices but normal happy, yappy voices. Pom Poms are proud, cocky and are not normally shy. Despite being so tiny, they quickly become characters in the family. They make you aware that they are there! It amazes me how a 3-4 lb dog can become a member of the family and be just as important as your 125 lb teenager! Most are not quiet, sit-in-the-corner dogs. They are intelligent and have a vivacious spirit! Pommies are lively, loyal, independent, affectionate but not clingy.

Pomeranians can be picky eaters. They can get along well with other dogs and with children. Although it's not a good idea to have a tiny toy dog of any breed around a baby or toddler as they can accidentally hurt the dog. Babies and Toddlers don't have complete control over their bodies and in learning to walk, crawl, etc they can accidentally trip over or land on a tiny dog.

It's important to train your dog and let your Pom know who is the pack leader...YOU! Because Pommies can take advantage of you and you become ruled by a 4 lb dog! If not trained right they can become nervous, have separation anxiety, become willful, demanding, temperamental and could even get protective and snap or bite those who approach his owner(s).

Pomeranians can seriously injure or kill THEMSELVES by leaping from your arms or off the back of your sofa or bed. Put dog stairs at the couch and/or bed if they are allowed up. Be careful with larger dogs who can grab a Pomeranian and break his neck with one quick shake. It’s your job to keep your Pom out of danger and trouble. They aren't always easy to potty train.

Elaine was on the Jay Leno show, vicariously! She was pictured in the local newspaper sitting on the couch with all her little Pommies. Some were crippled and one is hunched like he's about to poop on the couch. Someone sent that photo to Jay Leno and he featured it. See the blip at Elaine's website:http://pomrescue.com/blog1/?page_id=47

2 comments:

Love your pictures of your poms. We have a pom, a pom-some kind of terrier, and a pom-corgi mix. All were adoptees. My mother loved pomeranians and it's true, they're bossy little dogs. We just love them.

I thought it was a great article but I would include in the paragraph where you mentioned the baby or toddler might hurt the pomeranian. I recomend restate that and saying the pomeranian might hurt the baby or toddler. I have a pomeranian, he has been trained and is a great dog but around kids he is extremly scarred because they are so loud he has also tryed to snap at a few of them that have tryed to pet him.